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Teddy bear campaign goal $20,000

Elliot Ferguson/The Whig-Standard
Queen's University student Abby Ross, centre, places a teddy bear on a tree at Kingston General Hospital at the launch of the annual Teddy Bear campaign in Kingston on Monday.

The campaign, in partnership with the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 560 and its Ladies Auxiliary, has a goal of raising $20,000 to buy equipment for the pediatric department.

While the auxiliary’s cafe and book shop raise more money, funds raised by the teddy bear campaign are for a specific department.

“This is a campaign that is specific to pediatrics,” said Sandra Fletcher, president of the KGH Auxiliary. “We just raise money for pediatrics. The other fundraisers go into the general fund to buy a large piece of equipment but this one is always specific for pediatrics.”

In the past two year, the teddy bear campaign has exceeded its fundraising goal.

The 200 teddy bears can be sponsored for $100.

This year’s campaign, which runs from Nov. 13 to Dec. 20, is raising money to buy an electrocardiogram machine and syringe pumps for the department.

“What I think is great about this campaign is that the donations don’t just buy the pieces of equipment, which obviously are very important to us, but it actually gives something, literally, back to the children. That really does have an impact,” said Dr. Bob Connelly, head of the department of pediatrics.

“These are children who visit our hospital, whether as inpatients or outpatients, and I know they have always appreciate being able to have something given to them as part of their visit.”

The equipment the campaign is raising money for will help improve care for some of the hospital’s youngest patients, Connelly added.

An electrocardiogram machine allows rapid analysis of a patient’s heart. A syringe pump lets doctors administer a more precise dose of medication through an intravenous line.

“The ECG has been around for a long time, that is not necessarily a novel piece of equipment, but often they can be tailored for pediatric patients,” Connelly said.

“Syringe pumps are a newer type of equipment and it is just we need more of them as we use more and more medications.”